Clemson two-sport star Will Taylor to give up football, focus on baseball
Clemson two-sport star Will Taylor will only play one sport for the Tigers moving forward. Taylor announced on social media on Wednesday that he is giving up football to focus solely on baseball.
Taylor caught five passes for 16 yards and a touchdown last season, while returning 10 punts for 26 yards. As a freshman in 2021, Taylor had five carries for 20 yards, caught two passes for six yards and averaged 10.7 yards per punt return, before suffering a torn ACL in early October.
The Irmo native had a breakout season on the diamond this past spring, hitting .362 with 16 doubles, five home runs, 46 RBIs and 11 stolen bases. Will Taylor could have been a high draft pick in 2021. However, he passed on signing as a first-round MLB Draft pick and instead opted to play two sports at Clemson.
He was an immediate contributor on the football field for the Tigers, seeing action in the first game of his career as a wildcat quarterback and punt returner against Georgia.
Taylor helped Clemson football win the ACC Championship this past season, while starring for the Clemson baseball team, which won the ACC Tournament title. He became the first Clemson athlete to win an ACC championship in two sports in the same academic year since James Trapp won with football and track in 1991-92.
Clemson softball adds transfers Alex Brown from UNC, Lindsey Garcia from Auburn
Elsewhere at Clemson, the softball program received some good news earlier this week.
The Tigers officially landed a pair of potential impact transfers on Tuesday in Alex Brown from North Carolina and Lindsey Garcia from Auburn.
Brown was one of the top players in the ACC in 2023, leading the Tar Heels with a .399 average. She was named second-team All-ACC after batting .434 in ACC play. Brown stole 11 bases last season.
During her two seasons at North Carolina, Alex Brown combined to hit six doubles, two triples and five home runs.
Garcia started 61 games for Auburn this past season, hitting .280 with 10 home runs and 43 RBIs. During her four seasons with the Auburn Tigers, Lindsey Garcia appeared in 181 games, while making 159 starts.
“We are extremely excited to be adding Alex and Lindsey to our team,” Clemson head coach John Rittman said in a statement. “We put together a solid class of competitive and versatile student-athletes with our incoming freshmen, and both Lindsey and Alex amplify our team and will provide experience as we take the next step in our fifth year. Our entire signing class is talented and will improve the quality of our team, and we cannot wait to help these women develop both on and off the field.”